The Destiny 2 gameplay trailer officially launched last Friday, and it’s just about everything you would expect. There are more questions and fewer answers. The footage contains a mixture of both rehashed elements, along with a few welcomed additions. The storyline seems intriguing, characters look about the same, maps are all too familiar, and the weapons look like they’ve been given a nice upgrade. Let’s dive right into a few of the of the details and unearth our first impressions.
My initial impression was a mixture of a melancholy, skepticism, and optimism all jumbled into one. The gameplay looks a lot like Destiny, but with a different storyline and a few new enemies. My first viewing conjured thoughts of Destiny 1.5 , as though it was just another overpriced add-on. Everything felt the same from top to bottom. Can you blame me though? The first release was awesome, but it was also one giant, money-grabbing mess with little substance outside of great gameplay.
The second time I watched it, I felt more optimistic excitement simply because the storyline has so much potential. The thought of grinding my way through enemies with progression towards an end goals feels more natural. I don’t want to wait until DLC drops to understand what the heck I’m still playing for. No, I want a storyline from the get-go that’s cohesive, makes linear sense, draws me in, and has a few twists and turns.
The gameplay, as a whole, has always been Bungie’s bread and butter in nearly every game they’ve ever released. Destiny 2 seems to be no different, as the character movements and weapons’ abilities appear to be right on par with the high standards Bungie has always provided. Yes, the mere seconds of gameplay isn’t a substantial indicator of their quality, but they certainly look as perfect as ever.
But here, a storyline does exist! Everything follows an invasion of The Last City. This narrative picks up where Destiny left off. The Traveler is taken, we’ve lost the light, and there’s a whole new Cabal to encounter and fight. Nonetheless, a truly carved out story is much better than the rinse-and-repeat offering we experienced last time.
The Destiny 2 trailer, as a whole, seems to hold some decent promise. If Bungie can overcome the incredibly stupid and blatantly public decision to build a game model around endless launches of DLC, then we might have a rather solid game on our hands. We’ll have to be patience and see how the narrative unfolds. Let us know your thoughts about the trailer launch in the comment section below.